An Homage to the Finest of All Star Wars Movies

 I present this only for everyone's entertainment.  These are the result of extremely hasty remixing some STLs, printing at a lousy resolution and some slapdash painting borne of over-enthusiasm and impatience.

 

 

My labor of love / crime, depending on opinion. 

 

Regiment Playtest Game 2 - 23 May 2026

 Or, the Boys Learn that Infantry is Better at Close Combat than Shooting

 

Match 1:     

CrazyIvan (Galactic Empire) vs Maddog (Rebel Alliance)

Empire Forces: 

1 AT-AT
2 teams of AT-ST (2 walkers per team)
3 units of Stormtroopers (3 stands each) 
1 e-Web Heavy Repeating Blaster (1 stand)

Empire Support Assets: 

Comms Jamming (penalty to enemy command rolls)
Propaganda Drop (penalty to enemy courage rolls) 

Rebel Forces:

2 each 1.4 FD Laser Cannon (single stand each) 
3 each T-47 Snowspeeder (single stand each) 
5 units Rebel Troopers (3 stands each)

 Rebel Support Assets: 

Field Repairs (repairs a cannon or speeder) and 
Field Triage (heals up to 3 wounds for an infantry unit).

 Turn 1:

The game started a lot like the first game, except for minor deployment adjustments.  Being a big fan of the WWII Russian army, CrazyIvan opted for a general advance of the AT-ST teams followed very closely by Stormtrooper infantry, while the AT-AT carried a unit and anchored the center of the line.  Maddog's only change was to have the Snowspeeders swing to the rebel left flank to cover the more balanced Empire advance. 

Turn 1 had a lot more accurate shooting than in the first game, with the laser turrets taking out one unit of AT-STs while the AT-AT and AT-STs on the other side of the table shot down two speeders with the third making a dash move to quickly get out of the firing arc of the E-Web team.  I need to re-read the rules on flying models because I'm pretty sure that Maddog planned on making an illegal maneuver on turn 2.  With so much mechanical destruction right away, both sides' infantry had to push forward right away.

Turn 2:

Turn 2 saw even more destruction.  The Stormtroopers inside the AT-AT deployed into the treeline and then immediately took casualties from a Laser Turret.  Then Maddog got another activation token and suddenly realized that infantry has more firepower in close combat than shooting at range, so Rebel Troopers charged the AT-AT.  Predictably, or maybe surprisingly, neither side took a single wound.

 

 

The next image is the end of Turn 2.  I'm really sorry I didn't get more pics but I was really busy answering questions from the guys and laughing at the combat results.  The sequence was something like:

1. Stormtroopers in the woods charged the Rebel Troopers who had previously charged the AT-AT, and somehow both sides caused enough wounds that were were no survivors at all.
2.  Rebel Troopers charged the Stormtroopers near the destroyed AT-STs marked with black smoke, and were eliminated, but took out two stands of Stormtroopers.
3. The E-Web Heavy Blaster passed a Command roll, pivoted and shot down the last T-47 before it could make an attack on the AT-AT.
4. One of the Laser Turrets managed to destroy the AT-STs on the Empire right flank with two shots. 
5. The AT-AT activated, moved towards the Laser Turrets and then charged the nearest turret.  The outcome was exactly like when somebody stomps on a beer or soda can.

Turn 3... 

was just one roll of dice because the AT-AT activated first and was already within charge range of the remaining Laser Turret that was the last Rebel unit on the table.  The game ended with more jokes about stomping beer cans.

 

SW Regiment Playtest 23 May 2026

 A few of us got together at NeverBoard Games in Brooksville, Florida to see whether we'd break the rules or the rules would break us.  What we found is a quick and straightforward system that's surprisingly well laid out for an Alpha Test edition.  My models are older and based to play the old Assault on Hoth board game by West End Games, so the bases of my stands don't nearly match those recommended for this new wargame.

Match 1:     

Marz (Galactic Empire) vs Maddog (Rebel Alliance)

Empire Forces: 

1 AT-AT
2 teams of AT-ST (2 walkers per team)
3 units of Stormtroopers (3 stands each) 
1 e-Web Heavy Repeating Blaster (1 stand)

Empire Support Assets: 

Comms Jamming (penalty to enemy command rolls)
Propaganda Drop (penalty to enemy courage rolls) 

Rebel Forces:

2 each 1.4 FD Laser Cannon (single stand each) 
3 each T-47 Snowspeeder (single stand each) 
5 units Rebel Troopers (3 stands each)

 Rebel Support Assets: 

Field Repairs (repairs a cannon or speeder) and 
Field Triage (heals up to 3 wounds for an infantry unit).

 Turn 1:

 We deployed about 40" away from each other which is good as we were very nearly in range of each other once the Snowspeeders and AT-STs had moved without dashing.  The e-Web Blaster team is a great candidate for riding in a transport as it's 4" movement lags behind everything else in the force.  This photo was taken more than halfway through the first turn - the Stormtroopers haven't begun their advance and Maddog kept the Rebel troopers hunkered down behind cover most of the game as they're the most squishy unit in the game.

 

 

 

Turn 2:

We belatedly remembered that the 1.4 Laser Cannons have the Scout keyword which enables shifting their position right after deployment, so Maddog moved one from the back side of the tall hill down into the forward saddle.  This gave it LOS to the AT-STs instead of nothing at all.  After realizing "new player confusion" about attack stats, the 1.4 Laser on the front side of the tall hill did manage to damage the AT-AT.  I was teaching Maddog the rules as we played but we screwed up by confusing the two attack numbers as short / long range instead of shooting / melee.  This photo is just before the very successful Snowspeeder tow cable attack.  Marz had his dice portraying the Stormtroopers very well by missing almost every shot and the few that hit were easily saved by the rebel forces.

 

 Turn 3:

  This is where the game went very much like the movies.  AT-STs were annihilated trying to maneuver.  A speeder's tow cable brought down the AT-AT and the troops on board.  The other two speeders cut down the stormtroopers as they tried to take positions while the rebel troopers finally emerged to simply watch the destruction.  The dice luck stacked so strongly against the Empire that we couldn't fault any game stats.

Greenhorns!

Only took me ten years to get around to finally paying a game of  Two Hour Wargames'  wild west horror game High Moon Dead Reckoning.  As with everything by THW, this one can be played solo, co-op or head to head, and this one's a solo game.

First off, THW uses Stars to as a miniature representing each player (Savage Worlds calls them Wildcards and D&D calls them PCs) and Grunts (Savage Worlds Extras or D&D NPCs) are the sidekicks.  For this first game I decided to just put two Grunts on the table to let the story play out.  As usual, my dice had specific plans.

 Our protagonists are:rookie Secret Service agents on their first independent field mission.  Meet Wesley James – a Rep 4 Brawler who's Near Sighted and Gordo Artesian – a Rep 4 grunt with Quick Reflexes.  We begin our tale with the two young agents leaving the saloon at closing time after having spent the evening tracking down leads about the villainous Nurse Lovelace.

Turn 1 - PEFs activate first

PEF A passes 1 and moves 4: into the Undertaker’s business.  PEF B passes 2 and moves 8” out of the General Store and ends in a cactus patch.  PEF C passes 1 and moves towards the sheriff’s office.  Wesley and Gordo walk down the street spotting nothing unusual.

 Turn 2 - PEFs activate first

PEF A passes 2, moves 8” towards Wesley and resolves as "False Alarm!".  PEF B passes 2, moves 4” towards Wesley and resolves as "Somethings out there!".  PEF C passes 1 and moves 4” towards Gordo, still not in sight.  Wesley and Gordo walk down the street and get LOS on PEF C which resolves as a Chupacabra.

I roll an "In Sight" test for each miniature on the table.  Wesley passes 0, Gordo passes 2 and passes 1 on a "Draw!"roll.  The Chupacabra passes 2 and passes 3 on a "Draw!" roll so will act first, followed by Gordo while Wesley "freezes".

Since the Chupacabra doesn't have  a firearm, it takes a Charge into Melee test to attack Gordo, who's closest.  The Chupacabra passes 2 and in response Gordo passes 0 so the beast will attack before Gordo can shoot.  In the melee, the Chupacabra gets 5 successes while Gordo gets only 2.  The Chupacabra rolls a 5 (+3 for more successes) for a total of 8, ripping Gordo’s throat out Obviously Dead.

Turn 3 – Chupacabra rolls a 4 for Activation while Wesley rolls a 1. 

Since they're within an inch of each other, the Chupacabra attacks Wesley and scores 4 successes while Wesley scores 2 successes.  The Chupacabra rolls a 6 for Damage, which is always an "Obviously Dead" result, shredding Wesley into his Final Destination.

 

 

This may seem brutal, but as these are all Grunts lacking a Star's ability to "Cheat Death", not all that unusual, except that the dice were decidedly in favor of the Chupacabra and against the hapless greenhorn agents.  

Scifi Walls from Board Game Scrap

 

I got this idea from Irrational Number Line Games, an excellent source of kitbashing ideas.

Okay, so most board games, and quite a few miniatures games, come with heavy cardstock counters we punch out and then throw away the "sprue".  Well, don't throw away that "scrap" just yet.  Here, I've cut rectangles so the holes are symmetrical with another piece.

Here I've sprayed a matched pair of sprues with silver paint left over from some Mars Attacks saucers I did recently.

The one bit of money I spent on this project was this notebook of colored plastic folders.  A whole $4.

Then I just cut out a rectangle of plastic and glue it to a "wall half" with CA.

Glue the matching wall half sandwiching the plastic, add some feet to get it to stand up, and I have really inexpensive, decent looking, modular sci-fi walls.

Christmas Scenario

 I was cleaning up some files on my laptop, and found this gem from three years ago, back when I painted some old Grenadier C'thulu detectives and gangsters.

December 23rd

The tenement of Mary and Joey Baggadonetts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Mary was decorating the corner of the tiny studio apartment she and Joey had designated, “Da Nursery”, when Joey burst through the door.

“Pack yer tings Mary, we gots ta get outta here.”

“Whatsamatta Joey, is da heat on?”

“Woise, da Iggles is playin’ da Cowboys dis weekend, an you know what dat means...”

“King Harry gots da Romos comin’ ta town!  Whadda we gonna do, Joey?”

“We’s gonna go up North”…

“Wheah up North, Joey?”

“Ta Nazareth.”

“But Joey… I can’t make dat drive!  Da baby is gonna come any second now!”

“An so’s Harry… wit’ da Romos.”

Anyway, I have no idea where to go from here.  If I somehow make this into a game, I'll probably use Larger Than Life from Two Hour Wargames.

Martians invade Pennsyltucky

Just before the COVID lockdown, I bought some Warlord US Infantry at a flea market, and painting them occupied me for a while.  I'm in Michigan, and we're still mostly locked down, so gaming at the local store isn't an option.   Not having a WWII opponent, I unpacked the Flying Frog Martians I use as 5150 Hishen and decided to solo game a monster movie type scenario.  The rules I used were 5150: Star Army 2nd Tour, from Two Hour Wargames.

 Dateline: August 10th, 1950, 

S-Mart Shopping Center, Pennsyltucky

The Pennsyltucky National Guard has been deployed to the shopping center in response to a Martian saucer landing in the parking lot.  First squad is on the left, second squad on the right, and a medium machine gun team in the center, across from Cooter Liquors.

Turn One: US wins activation and the two squads advance to the parked cars.  Two PEF (Possible Enemy Force) turn out to be "just a case of nerves".  A third PEF comes out of the liquor store and resolves as a squad of Martians.  In Sight tests were taken and the National Guardsmen opened fire.

The gunfire sent three Martians OOF (Out of the Fight) and the survivors ducked back into the store.

On the next turn, the Martians failed to activate, while the Guardsmen advanced for an assault.

On Turn 3, the Martians won Activation and opened fire on First Squad, causing several casualties.  The Guardsmen, who failed to activate, broke and ran.

Turn 4 saw the Martians activate first, so they came out of the liquor store and then they also won the In Sight test, opening fire on Second Squad.  The Guardsmen took a couple casualties and then also ran away, leaving the Martians victorious.